What an intriguing discovery survivors, can you guess what creature it is?

Upcoming Turret Change

Over the past few weeks, we have been carrying out analysis on our Official Servers to see where we can improve server performance and what the biggest difference is currently versus Early Access. Since ARK went retail, we were expecting to see our servers have better performance due to optimisations, better allocation and usage of hardware, and improved DDoS mitigation. What we have learnt is that there has been a dramatic change in how turrets are being used on Official Servers. The fundamental issue is that tribes are not only significantly increasing the number of turrets they use, but reducing the space they occupy, so the server is having to do more calculations in denser areas. In some cases, we've seen an increase of 7x versus the previous server-profiling data we had. It is clear that we need to make a change in regards to how turrets are placed, but we understand that they are an important part meta-game on Official PvP servers and therefore want to give you as much notice as possible.

With the following change, we are expecting a performance increase of 50% on average for our Official Servers (extreme cases up to 300%) and this will have an impact on all maps.

Starting from today on PC (and next week on console), you'll receive an update which indicates the number of turrets you have within 10k units. When you exceed 100 turrets within 10k units, there will be a warning placed on the turret to inform you, so you can make adjustments as necessary. On December the 5th, we will flick a switch on our Official Servers which will disable all turrets that exceed the allocated limit. You have the period from now until then to make any changes you want to avoid your turrets from being turned off. Once the turrets are within the permitted amount, they will function again. This patch will also allow the mounted minigun turret to shoot non-mounted tames, but reduce their range to be the equivalent of the auto turret.

In accordance with this change, we will also be increasing the damage of autoturrets and TEK turrets by 20%, increasing the item slot count of autoturrets by 50% on the 5th of December.

The turret limit will effect: Plant Species X, Autoturrets, and TEK Turrets.

So remember, you'll see the visual change first and will have a couple weeks to prepare for the actual change which prevents turrets from being used over the limit. This is all enabled through a server-setting which can be used in the game.ini:

[/script/shootergame.shootergamemode]bLimitTurretsInRange=true

TLDR: Turret usage had changed since the game went retail, it has been having a huge negative impact on the server. We will be introducing a limit to how many can be placed within a certain radius on the 5th of December. On PC a patch will be deployed today to inform you of the limit so you can make changes as necessary (and next week on console also). The change affects Plant Species X, Autoturrets, and TEK Turrets. We will also be buffing auto turrets, tek turrets, and minigun turrets.

ARK Sponsored Mod Update!

It's that time of the month where we announce new mods entering the sponsored mod program! We've seen our fair share of maps, total conversions, rebalance, and creature mods but not often do we get to share mods that are tools that benefit other modders. This month we are excited to announce one of those mods, ArkFrame created by ZenRowe.

This isn't the typical mod you might find yourself subscribing to because it doesn't actually contain end-user content. It is essentially a standardization library that modders can use. To most people browsing through the workshop, this wouldn't typically catch their eye. They are more likely to browse through the workshop and find they are already subscribed to it!

Why is this mod important for the program and Ark? It will, in time, create an easier way for people to get into modding by standardizing some of the most common functions.

Survivors across ALL Platforms will be receiving a special Evolution Event++ perk this weekend! It's already live now and will remain active until Monday the 20th at 12 PM EST. All Official Servers will be undergoing this evolutionary change which includes: